Self sealing balloti boxtand mechanism



Sept. 15, 1964 G. M. HUNT SELF LING BALLOT BOX INSERTING BALLOT AND MECHANISM S THEREIN 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 9, 1960 W flaw/51512 .4 4g??? INVENTOE Gdugser M. //L/A/7' fold/rm fzafAMuMW /AL Armada-Y5.

Sept. 15, 1964 G. M. HUNT 3,148,827,

SELF SEALING BALLOT BOX AND MECHANISM FOR INSERTING BALLOTS THEREIN Filed Dec. 9, 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 s: 5 & Y

' V INVENTOR. 'J/LfiEZT M. /l/A/T BY Arron/e1 G. M. HUNT Sept. 15, 1964.

3,148,827 SELF SEALING BALLOT BOX AND MECHANISM FOR INSERTING BALLOTS THEREIN Filed Dec. 9, 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVEN T02 Qdmpszr M /z/A/ ATToENEYS United States Patent 3,148,827 SELF SEALING BALLQT BOX AND MECHANTSM FGR liNSERTENG BALLQTS THEREEN Guilbert M. Hunt, Willowick, @hio, assignor to Seismogi'aph Service Qorporation, Tulsa, Qkla, a corporation of Delaware Filed Dec. 9, was, er. No. 74,836 '7 (Claims. (1. 235-51) The present invention relates generally to voting machines and is more particularly concerned with a new and improved ballot box for use in such machines and to mechanism for automatically closing the ballot box when the voting machine is opened for the purpose of removing the box at the completion of the election.

The apparatus of the present invention is used in voting machines of the type wherein ballot cards or papers are used to record the voters choice as, for example, in a voting machine like that disclosed in United States application Serial No. 74,825, now Patent No. 3,096,017, filed simultaneously herewith and assigned to the same assignee as the present invention. In voting machines of this type the numerous ballots produced during any election must be collected and transported to a counting or tabulating station. It is, of course, imperative that the ballot box be sealed before it is removed from the voting machine in order to prevent fraudulent insertion of additional ballots during the removal of the box or during transport to the counting station. The present invention therefore has for a primary object the provision of a voting machine having a ballot box which is automatically closed or sealed during opening or" the voting machine to remove the box.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a ballot box of the character described which can be opened at the counting station only by breaking a characteristic seal which, if broken before the box reaches the counting station, indicates that someone has tampered with the box.

The invention has for another object the provision of a ballot box having a slideable lid with at least one ballot inserting passage therein, the lid being automatically moved along the box from a position wherein the passage is open to another position where the passage is closed when the voting machine is opened at the completion of the election.

Another object of the invention is to provide a ballot box of the character described above having a movable lid which is automatically locked in a ballot passage closing position when the voting machine is opened to permit removal of the ballot box.

In order to preserve the secrecy of the vote, it is also desirable to insert the voted ballots into the ballot box in such a manner that they cannot be subsequently identified. Thus, if a single voting machine is used at any given voting station and if the ballots cast on this machine are allowed to fall into a single chamber within the box so that they are stacked one upon the other in orderly manner, it would be a fairly simple matter to determine how each voter cast his ballot merely by referring to the order in which he voted and locating the corresponding ballot in the stack. It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a ballot box and associated ballot inserting mechanism for preserving the secrecy of the vote.

Another object of the invention is to provide a voting machine of the character indicated above wherein the ballots are collected in a plurality of compartments or stacks to avoid the buildup of a stack of excessive height.

A further object of the invention is to provide a voting machine employing a ballot box with a plurality of ballot collecting compartments therein each including a ballot inserting opening with the machine further including ballot inserting means for passing the ballots through the compartment openings in sequence so that the collected ballots cannot be positively identified when the ballot box is opened.

In accordance with the present invention the foregoing and other objects are realized by providing a voting machine having a chamber defined therein for receiving a ballot box. An access panel at one side of the machine may be removed to permit insertion of the ballot box at the beginning of the election and to permit the removal of the ballot box at the completion of the voting. The access panel is locked throughout the election period to prevent access to the ballot box and, hence, to avoid fraudulent insertion of ballots. The ballot box is completely closed except for a pair of ballot inserting passages formed in its top cover or lid which is mounted for limited sliding movement along the box. With the lid in its normal or ballot inserting position, the passages are open to permit insertion of ballots into respective collecting chambers formed within the box with each such chamber communicating with one of the ballot inserting passages.

A ballot inserting mechanism picks up each ballot at the completion of the voting operation and delivers it to the ballot box. This mechanism includes a shuttle mechanism automatically eliective to direct successive ballots to different ones of the ballot inserting openings. The ballots, of course, fall downwardly Within the chambers to which they are fed and, hence, they are collected or stacked in two different areas. Since one cannot determine the position of the shutter mechanism from the exterior of the voting machine, it is impossible to identify the chamber which receives the first ballot cast during any election and, as a consequence, the secrecy of the ballot is assured.

When the lid of the ballot box is slid to the closed position, fixed closure members within the ballot box block both of the ballot inserting passages and thus prohibit further insertion of ballots into the box. A detent within the box cooperates with the cover to lock the cover in the closed position.

The access panel carries a latch biased downwardly against the cover and having a finger thereon extending into an opening near one end of the lid when the ballot box is fully inserted into the machine. The latch is so constructed and arranged that, when the access panel is removed, the lid automatically slides along the box from the normal ballot collecting position to the closed position Where it is locked against further movement by the detent, thereby sealing the box. The box is then transported to the counting or tabulating station.

The lid is formed of a plurality of plates or cover sections having flanges thereon lying adjacent each other and extending upwardly. A U-shaped clamp overlaps these two flanges and a breakable seal passes through the clamp and the flanges to complete the assembly. Thus, when the cover is locked in the closed position access to the interior of the ballot box may be obtained only by breaking the seal and disassembling the lid, an operation which is performed at the counting station to permit the removal of the ballots. If the seal is broken upon arrival at the counting station, the election officials are informed that the ballot box has been tampered with during the removal or the transport.

The invention, both as to its organization and manner of operation, together with further objects and advan tages thereof will best be understood by reference to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a voting grease? 3 machine characterized by the features of the present invention; I

FIG. 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary, perspective view illustrating the card inserting apparatus used in supplying ballot cards to the ballot box in accordance with one feature of the present invention with certain parts being shown schematically;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary, sectional view illustrating a ballot box constructed in accordance with the present invention together with its associated self-locking mechanism and its card feeding or inserting apparatus;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary, sectional View taken along a line substantially corresponding to the line 4-4 of FIG. 3 assuming, of course, that the latter shows the entire structure, with a number of portions of the structure shown in FIG. 4 being broken away to illustrate several details of construction;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary, sectional view taken along a line substantially corresponding to the line 55 in FIG. 3 again assuming that the latter shows the entire structure;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary, perspective view showing a portion of a ballot box characterized by the features of the present invention and particularly illustrating the detent means for locking the ballot box in sealed position together with the mechanism whereby the ballot box may be opened at the counting station;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary, sectional view illustrating the ballot box in closed position with the locking mechanism carried by the access door being shown in the position which it occupies during closing of the door prior to use of the machine during an election; and

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary, sectional view illustrating the ballot box and its associated locking mechanism shown in the positions occupied when the access door is being opened following completion of the election.

Referring now to the drawings and first to FIG. 1, the voting machine of the present invention is there identified generally by the reference numeral 10 and comprises a housing 11 containing a generally vertically extending, voting panel containing section 12 and a lower ballot card handling section 13. The housing for the ballot card handling section 13 extends forwardly from the voting panel section and forms a shelf area 14. The voting machine may be of any type which utilizes a ballot card or paper for recording the selections of the voters. The recording may be done either by printing on the ballot card or, preferably, by punching holes in the ballot at locations corresponding to the selections made by the voter. More specifically, the machine may be of the type disclosed in copending application Serial No. 74,825, now Patent No. 3,096,017, filed simultaneously herewith and assigned to the same assignee as the present invention. As is described in the latter application and in copending application Serial No. 74,887 of Edward I. Crossland and Stanley W. Wilcox also filed simultaneously herewith and assigned to the same assignee as the present invention, the voting machine operation is initiated by the insertion of a ballot card identified by the reference numeral 15 in FIG. 1 into the machine, for example, by inserting the card through an opening located at the right side of the voting machine but not visible in FIG. 1. As is described in the above-identified patent applicationsrthe voting machine includes sensing mechanism for determining that the ballot card is properly inserted and also includes mechanism for setting up the machine so that the voter may cast his ballot only upon issues for which he is properly qualified to vote. When the card has been properly inserted, it remains in fixed position within the voting machine while the voter makes the selections upon the front panel of the vertical section 12 in a manner which is also described in the above-identified patent applications. After all of the selections have been made, the voter starts the vote recording operation by actuating a manually operable switch actuator 16 having a control knob or handle which is accessible above the shelf area 14. Actuation of the switch 16 star-ts movement of a scanning device (not shown in the drawings) along the back of the voting panel and, at the same time, starts the step by step advancement of the ballot 15 through a card punching mechanism which is represented by the block 17 in FIG. 1. The operation of the scanning device in synchronism with the step by step advancement of the card through the punching mechanism 17 is described in the two patent applications identified above and forms no part of the present invention. By the time the scanning device reaches the end of its scanning operation, the ballot card has advanced to a position where it is picked up by a ballot allotting or inserting mechanism represented by the block its shown in FIG. 1. The ballot inserting mechanism 18 delivers the ballot to a ballot box 119 which is located immediately therebelow and is disposed within a ballot box receiving chamber defined in the card handling section 13 of the voting machine beneath the shelf area 14. Since the voting machine 10 is adapted to sit upon a relatively low support such as a table or desk, the housing 11 is provided with resilient legs or pads 22 (FIGS. 3, 5, 7 and 8) at each of its four bottom corners.

The ballot box 19 is inserted into the voting machine 14 prior to the election and is removed following the election through an opening 11a formed in the left side of the card handling section 13. After the ballot box 19 has been inserted prior to the election, an access door 2% is locked in position by a conventional key operated lock 21 to cover the opening 11a so that the ballot box is inaccessible from the exterior of the voting machine. Moreover, the chamber containing the ballot box is closed or separated from the remaining components of the voting machine and, hence, no one can fraudulently insert ballot cards into the ballot box during the course of the election. 7

Turning now to the construction of the ballot box itself and referring particularly to FIGS. 3, 4, 5 and 8 of the drawings, it will be observed that this box includes a bottom, card receiving tray or box-like portion 25 having a bottom wall 26, two end walls 27 and 28 (FIG. 3) and two side walls 29 and 30 (FIG. 5), all integrally formed. The upper ends of the two side walls 29 and 34) are respectively provided with outwardly extending lips or flanges 29a and 3th: extending along the entire length of the card receiving tray 25, while the two end walls 27 and 28 are also provided at their upper ends with outwardly extending flanges or lips respectively indicated by the reference numerals 27a and 28a. A center partition 31 (FIG. 3) is secured to the bottom wall 26 and extends between the two side walls 29 and 30 to divide the tray 25 into two ballot receiving chambers or compartments respectively indicated by the reference numerals 32 and 33. To this end, the partition 31 includes a lower angle bend 31a welded or otherwise secured to the bottom wall 26 and further includes an upper flange or bend portion 31b.

The ballot box 119 further comprises a top cover or lid 35 mounted for limited sliding movement along the top of the lower card receiving tray 25. The lid or cover 35 is made up of a pair of sheet members 36 and 37 which are provided with upwardly and transversely extending flanges 36a and 37a, respectively, abutting each'other. The flange 37a is or" Z-shaped cross section to provide an ofiset portion cooperating with the flange 36a to define a detent notch 38, the purpose of which will become apparent as the description proceeds. The sheet member 37 is provided with a first ballot inserting passage or opening 39 through which ballot cards are inserted into the chamber 33 and with a second ballot inserting passage or opening 40 for inserting the ballot cards into the chamber 32. At the left side of the passage 40 as viewed in FIGS. 3, 4 and 8, there is provided a card guide 41 formed 18y a313, upwardly inclined bent portion of the sheet mem To guide the cover 35 in its sliding movement along the tray 25, the sheet members 36 and 37 are rolled over along their two side edges to form grooves or slots for receiving the side flanges 29a and 38a of the tray. The rolled over side edges of the member 37 are indicated by reference numerals 37c and 37d (FIG. 4) while those of the member 36 are indicated at 36c and 36d (FIG. 5). The left end 36@ (FIGS. 3, 4, 7 and 8) of the member 36 and the right end 376 (FIGS. 3, 4, and 8) of the member 37 are both rolled over to form guide grooves for receiving the end flanges 27a and 28a of the lower tray. The flange 27a cooperates with the rolled over portion 36a of the member 36 to limit the rightward movement of the cover or lid 35 as viewed in FIGS. 3, 4 and 8 while the flange 28a cooperates with the rolled over portion 376 of the member 37 to limit the leftward movement of the lid.

As is best shown in FIGS. 3, 4 and 6, the two sheet members 36 and 37 are held together by a U-shaped clamp 42 which embraces and extends along the abutting flanges 36a and 37a. Aligned apertures in the clamp and in the two abutting flanges accommodate a ring or wire 43 having its two ends joined together by a breakable seal 4 for example, a seal of soft metal construction.

As was indicated previously, the cover or lid 35 is adapted to slide along the tray 25 between a ballot inserting or open position shown in FIG. 3 and a sealed or closed position shown in FIG. 8. During the course of the voting operation, when the ballot box is adapted to collect the marked or printed ballot, it is, of course, in its open position with the cover 35 at the extreme right and with the rolled over portion 36a of the sheet member 36 in engagement with the end of the flange 27a. In this position, both of the passages 39 and 40 are unobstructed and ballots may be passed from the inserting mechanism 18 into the chambers 32 and 33. At the completion of the election, it is desirable, of course, to move the lid or cover 35 to the sealed or closed position to prevent the further insertion of ballots into the box 19. To this end, the lid may be moved to its extreme leftposition shown in FIG. 8 wherein the outer end of the flange 28a engages the rolled over portion 372 of the sheet member 37. For the purpose of closing the ballot inserting passages 39 and 40 when the cover 35 is moved to the sealed position, the ballot box is provided internally with passage closing means generally indicated at 46 and 47. Each of these passage closing means may be formed by a single member having a pair of side braces respectively secured to the side walls 29 and 30 and a transversely extending passage blocking member extending between the two side braces. While the two side braces and the blocking members are illustrated as being formed integrally, these may, of course, be separate members. In any event, the two side braces of the closing means 46 for the passage 39 are identified by reference numerals 46a and 46b (FIGS. 3 and 4) while the blocking member for this closing means bears reference numeral 460. Similarly, the two side braces of the closing means 47 for the passage 40 bear reference numerals 47a and 47b (FIGS. 3 and 4) and the blocking member extending between these two braces is indentified as 470. The blocking member of each passage closing means comprises a transversely extending plate of Z-shaped cross section having a flat upper ledge in engagement with the under surface of the cover or lid 35. The ledge for the closing means 46 is indicated by the reference numeral 46d while that for the closing means 47 is indicated by the reference numeral 47a. The ledges 46d and 47d extend slightly above the flanges 27a, 28a and 31b so that the cover or lid slides along these ledges during its movement between open and closed positions. The width of the ledges 46d and 47a! is slightly greater than that of the passages 39 and 4t) and, hence, when the lid 35 is moved to the closed or sealed position shown in FIG. 8, the ledge 46d covers the passage 39 while the ledge 47d covers the passage 40. Since both of the ledges fit tightly against the cover, it is impossible to insert additional ballots into the ballot box with the cover or lid in he closed position.

In order to prevent the lid from being moved back to the open position after the ballot box has been sealed, there is provided a detent mechanism indicated generally by the reference numeral 48. This detent comprises a leaf spring member 49 having a base portion 54 secured as by riveting to the blocking member 470 and also having an outwardly and upwardly extending detent finger 51 prestressed or biased to pivot about the rivets in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIGS. 3 and 8. When the cover 35 is in the open position, the upper end of the detent finger is biased against the bottom of the sheet member 36 and, as a result, movement of the cover to the sealed or closed position shown in PEG. 8 brings the finger 5} into alignment with the notch 38 so that the finger is seated within this notch to prevent further movement of the lid in either direction.

The ballot card inserting or feeding mechanism 18 is adapted to supply the ballot cards alternately to the two compartments or chambers 32 and 33 of the ballot box 19 so that all of the cards are not collected in a single chamber. This arrangement avoids the buildup of an excessively high stack of ballots and, hence, permits a relatively shallow shelf area 14. While the mechanism for feeding the ballot cards alternately to the two chambers may take any number of forms, it is illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 as comprising a sorting shuttle mechanism indicated generally by the reference numeral 55 and operated by the manually operated voting switch actuator 16 referred to above. The actuator 16 is operated by moving it to the left as viewed in FIG. 2 against the action of a biasing spring 56, thus closing a starting switch 57 to complete an electrical circuit to a card feed mechanism .indicated generally by the reference numeral 5?. This card feed mechanism, as will be understood by reference to the aforementioned applications Serial Nos. 74,887 and 74,825, includes means for advancing the ballot card in step by step fashion through the card punch mechanism and for then passing the card to the ballot inserting mechanism 18 which includes card advancing apparatus formed by a plurality of spaced apart drive rollers 59, 60 and 61. These drive rollers are driven from the card feed mechanism 58 via a drive arrangement which may include a chain and set of sprockets indicated generally by the reference numeral 62. The chain and sprocket drive includes sprockets 63, 64 and 65 respectively mounted upon shafts 66, 67 and 63 supporting the drive rollers 59, 60 and 61. The drive roller 59 cooperates with a fixed card guide 69 secured to the top of the lid 35 to advance the card from the ballot punching mechanism 17 to the sorting shuttle mechanism 55.

The sorting shuttle mechanism comprises a card deflecting arm 7t? mounted at one end 71 upon a fixed arm member 72 within the housing 11. The deflecting arm is movable between the positions respectively shown in solid lines and in broken lines in FIG. 2 and, when in the solid line position, is effective to direct the ballot card into the chamber 33 but in the broken line position is effective to permit passage of the ballot card into the chamber 32. More specifically, the arm 70 includes an outer V-shaped guide portion 73 which enters the ballot inserting passage 39 and, hence, directs the leading edge of the advancing ballot card downwardly through the passage 39 when the deflecting arm is biased downwardly to the solid line position shown in FIG. 2. As the card continues to advance to the position where its trailing edge leaves the roller 59, it falls freely into the chamber 33. When the deflecting arm 70 is moved upwardly to the position shown in broken lines in FIG. 2, the leading edge of the card 15 is not diverted downwardly through the passage 39 but, instead, the card passes along an elongated card guide 74 secured to the top 35 of the ballot box and is picked up and advanced by the rollers 60 and 61. The trailing edge region of the guide 74 is inclined downamass? wardly as indicated at 75 so that the leading edge of the card passing between the roller 61 and the inclined region '75 is directed beneath the upwardly inclined guide 41 and through the ballot inserting passage 40. Here again, when the trailing edge of the card leaves the roller 61, the card falls freely into the chamber 32.

v The deflecting arm it? is aiternately moved between the solid line and broken line positions indicated in FIG. 2 as the voting machine is used by successive voters. Specifically, the movement of the deflecting arm 73 is controlled by a cam 75 rotated by the actuator 16. The cam 75 includes diametrically opposed raised portions 75a and 75b and similarly opposed depressed portions 750 and '75:! with all of said portions being located 90 apart around the cam periphery. When one of the raised portions 75a and 75b is in engagement with the deflecting arm 73, the arm is biased downwardly to the position shown in solid lines in FIG. 2, while engagement of the deflecting arm by one of the depressed regions 750 or 75d permits the deflecting arm 74? to spring upwardly to the position shown in broken lines. The cam 75 is mounted upon an idler or stub shaft 76 supported upon the fixed arm 72 and this shaft also carries a spindle 77 which is adapted to be turned by a finger 78 mounted for pivotal movement upon the actuator 16. As Was mentioned previously, the actuator 16 is manually moved to the left along the arm 72 to start the advancement of the scanning device and to begin the step by step advancement of the ballot card. The leftward movement of the actuator causes the finger 78 to turn the spindle 77 through a quarter revolution since the actuator 16 includes a suitable stop (not shown) for preventing the finger 78 from turning during leftward movement of the actuator. When the spring 56 returns the actuator 16 to the right following release by the voter, the finger 78 is free to pivot in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 2 and thus rides over the periphery of the spindle 7'7 Without turning the shaft 76. Thus, each operation of the vote actuator 16 turns the spindle 77 ninety degrees counterclockwise as viewed in FIG. 2 and causes the deflecting arm 70 to be moved from one of its positions to the other and, as a result, the ballot cards used by successive voters will be diverted into different chambers Within the ballot box. This construction possesses the aforementioned advantage with respect to avoiding the buildup of a high stack of ballots but, in addition, since it is impossible to determine the position of the sorting shuttle mechanism from the exterior of the voting machine, one cannot identify the ballots inserted into the ballot box with absolute certainty. Specifically, if the ballots were collected in a single chamber, they could be identified upon removal at the counting or tabulating station since the ballot used by the first voter entering the machine would be on the bottom of the stack while the ballot used by the second voter would be next to the bottom and so 011. Thus, if only one voting machine were used at a particular voting station, the ballots could be identified with absolute certainty. The sorting shuttle mechanism 55, of course, avoids such identification in the manner indicated above.

In accordance with another important feature of the present invention, provision is made for automatically sealing the ballot box when the access door 29 is opened for the purpose of removing the box following the completion of the election. To this end, the access door carries a latching mechanism 8! in engagement with the lid or cover 35 of the. ballot box when the access door is closed. The latching mechanism includes a latch member 81 mounted for pivotal movement upon a bracket '79 secured to the interior of the door 2%. The latch memer 81 includes a downwardly extending hook-like finger 32 which is adapted to be inserted through an opening or slot %3 formed in the top of the cover 35, through a similar slot 84 formed in the rolled over portion Eide of the sheet member 36 and through a slot or opening 27b E3 formed in the flange 27a of the lower tray 25. The latch 81 is biased to pivot upon the bracket 79 in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 3 by means of a biasing spring 35 having one end secured to a horizontal arm 8t of a U-shaped support fixed on the interior of the access door 28. The Uehaped support further comprises side support legs 99 and 1% depending downwardiy from the arm 86. The arm 36 and the legs E 9 and 1% extend through the opening lie when the access door is closed. The access door 24 also carries a fixed stop arm 87 extending inward to engage the end wall 27 of the ballot'box for a purpose which will become evident as the description proceeds. The access door is mounted for pivotal movement upon the voting machine housing H by means of a hook arm 83 having a downwardly extending hook portion 88a which is received within an aperture 8% formed within a bottom panel member 89 afixed to the bottom of the housing iii. For the purpose of locking the access door in closed position, the key operated lock 21 referred to above includes a lock arm 96 shown in FIG. 5 for engaging a lock bracket 91 affixed to the interior of the voting machine housing just above the opening 11a. The access door 20, of course, may be opened prior to the start of the election to permit the insertion of the ballot box and again at the completion of the election to permit the removal of the box. At the start of the election when the access door is opened, the ballot box is inserted into a narrow channel formed in the housing by a pair of guide plates 95 and 96 secured in any suitable manner to the panel member 89 as, for example, by means of brackets 97 and 98. The ballot box is inserted until it reaches the position shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 where its end wall 28 engages and seats against a pair of spaced apart fixed stops 93 and 94 respectively secured to the guide plates 95 and 96. The latter guide plates serve to guide the ballot box into proper position within the voting machine housing while the stops hf) and 94 limit the depth of insertion so that these stops and the two guide plates cooperate to orient the ballot box in exactly the right position with respect to the ballot inserting mechanism 18. The height of the guide plates 95 and 96 is slightly less than that of the ballot box and, hence, as the ballot box is inserted, the outwardly extending lips or flanges formed by the rolled over side edges of the sheet members 36 and 37 rest upon the upper edges of side guide plates 95 and 9%. After the ballot box has been fully inserted with its innermost end wall 28 seated against the stops 93 and 94, the fixed guide 69 is properly positioned against the drive roller 59 while the guide 74 fits against the rollers 66 and 61. At this time, the access door may be pivoted upon the hook 38a and the slot 8% in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 3 to move the door towards its closed position. As the access door is pivoted, the hook finger 82 engages the outermost end of the lid or cover and since this finger includes an upwardly and inwardly inclined sloping forward edge 8201, it is pivoted in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in FIGS. 3 and 7 against the action of the biasing spring 85, thus permitting the finger to ride over the edge of the cover of the ballot box. As the access door is moved further toward the closed position, the extreme lower end of the finger 32 rides along the top surface of the cover until it reaches a position where it is located immediately above the aligned slots 83, 84 and 2712. At this point, the biasing spring 35 pivots the latch finger 31 downwardly so that the extreme lower end 82 enters the aligned slots to lock the access door to the cover of the ballot box. The lock 21 is then turned to move its arm into engagement with the bracket 91 thereby locking the access door in the closed position. The machine is now ready to begin the voting operation. When the first voter inserts his ballot card 15 and completes his voting selections, he operates the voting switch or actuator 16 to advance the card through the punching mechanism 17 to the ballot inserting apparatus 18. The latter apparatus functions to deliver the ballot card through one of the passages 39 or 40 to one of the card receiving chambers in the ballot box. As was indicated previously, the sorting mechanism 55 may be in either of its two positions and, hence, it is impossible to determine which of the ballot receiving chambers 32 or 33 will receive the first ballot card. However, as soon as the first voter has completed the voting operation, his operation of the actuator 16 changes the position of the shuttle mechanism 55 and, more specifically, of the deflecting arm 73 and, hence, when the ballot card of the next succeeding voter passes to the mechanism 18, it is diverted to the other of the ballot receiving chambers. The operation then continues in an obvious manner until the election is completed.

At the completion of the election, the access door 20 is opened to permit the removal of the ballot box 19. This is, of course, accomplished by operation of the lock 21 to disengage the arm 90 from the locking bracket 91 whereupon the access door 26 is free to pivot upon the hook 88a and aperture 89:: from the closed position towards the open position in the manner illustrated in FIG. 8. During the first few degrees of opening movement of the access door, the latching finger 82 automatically pulls the cover or lid 35 from the ballot inserting or open position to the sealed position. Specifically, when the access door is pivoted outwardly from the fully closed position in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 8, the ballot box begins to move away from the fixed stops 93 and 94 at the innermost end thereof but the inwardly extending stop arm 87 on the access door causes the movement of the lower tray 25 of the ballot box to be retarded slightly with respect to the movement of the lid or cover 35 so that by the time the access door reaches the position shown in FIG. 8, the cover 35 has been removed to the sealed or closed position with the rolled over portion 37a at the end of the sheet member 37 in engagement with the flange 28a. At this time, the detent mechanism 48, of course, cooperates with the notch 38 to lock the ballot box in the sealed position. The upper support arm 86 and the two downwardly extending side legs 99 and 180 prevent anyone from gaining access to the ballot inserting passages 39 and 40 around the edges of the access door until the door has been opened sufliciently to lock the cover in closed position. Further movement of the access door outwardly from the position shown in FIG. 8 results in the ballot box being drawn along the side guide plates 95 and 96 until the access door reaches the position wherein its hook 88a can be lifted from the slot 89a and wherein the latching finger 82 may be disengaged from the slots in the cover 35. At this point, the ballot box may be readily removed from the voting machine and then transported to a tabulating or counting station. When the box reaches the counting station, it may be opened by breaking the seal 44 and removing the ring or wire 43 from the aligned openings in the clamp 42 and in the flanges 36a and 37a. After the ring has been removed, the clamp is lifted from the flanges whereupon the two cover members 36 and 37 may be separated to permit removal of the ballots from both of the chambers 32 and 33. If the seal 44 is broken upon arrival at the counting station, the election oflicials are informed that the ballot box has been tampered with and they may make an immediate investigation.

In View of the foregoing description, it will be apparent that the apparatus described is effective to accomplish all of the enumerated objects of the invention. Moreover, while a particular embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, it will be apparent that many modifications will occur to those skilled in this art and it is therefore contemplated by the appended claims to cover any such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a voting machine the combination of a housing defining a ballot box receiving chamber, a ballot box disposed within said chamber and including a sliding cover thereon, manually operated door means removably mounted on said housing and movable from a closed to an open position for permitting insertion and removal of the ballot box, means defining a ballot passage into said ballot box, said sliding cover being normally positioned to maintain said passage open but being slideable along said box to a position wherein the passage is closed, and means mounted on said door means and engageable with said cover for automatically sliding said cover from the normal position to the passage closing position when said manually operated door means is moved toward the open position in order to permit removal of the ballot box.

2. In a voting machine the combination of a housing defining a ballot box receiving chamber with an opening therein to permit insertion and removal of said ballot box, a ballot box disposed within said chamber and including a sliding cover thereon, said housing including a panel pivotally mounted on said housing and movable to an open and a closed position removable from said housing to provide access to the chamber for the purpose of inserting and removing the ballot box, means defining a ballot passage into said ballot box, said sliding cover being normally positioned to maintain said passage open but being slideable along said box to a position wherein the passage is closed, and a latch mounted upon said panel and engageable with said cover for automatically sliding said cover from the normal position to the passage closing position when the access panel is pivotally moved from said closed position toward said open position for removal from said housing.

3. In a voting machine, the combination which comprises a housing having defined therein a ballot box receiving chamber including a panel which is removable to provide access to said chamber, a closed ballot box disposed within said chamber and including a slideable cover, said cover having at least one ballot passage therein leading to the interior of the box, a passage closure mounted in fixed position within said box and adjacent said cover, said cover being slideable along said ballot box from a first position wherein said passage is open to permit insertion of ballots into said box to a second position wherein said fixed passage closure blocks said passage, a detent mounted within said box and biased towards said cover, means on said cover cooperating with said detent to lock said cover in said second position to prevent sliding movement of the cover, said cover normally occupying said first position, and a latch mounted on said access panel and engaging said cover for automatically sliding said cover from said first position to said second position when said panel is removed, thereby to close said passage.

4. In a voting machine, the combination which comprises a housing having defined therein a ballot box receiving chamber including a panel which is removable to provide access to said chamber, a closed ballot box disposed within said chamber and including a slideable cover, said cover having at least one ballot passage therein leading to the interior of the box, said cover including first and second wall members having flanges thereon extending adjacent each other and outwardly of the box, a clamp overlying said flanges and normally effective to lock said wall members together, sealing means normally effective to lock said clamp and said flanges but breakable to permit disassembly of said cover, a passage closure mounted in fixed position within said box and adjacent said cover, said cover being slideable along said ballot box from a first position wherein said passage is open to permit insertion of ballots into said box to a second position wherein said fixed passage closure blocks said passage, a detent mounted within said box and biased towards said cover, means on said cover cooperating with said detent to lock said cover in said second position to prevent sliding movement of the cover, said cover norll mally occupying said first position, and a latch mounted on said access panel and biased into engagement with said cover for automatically sliding said cover from said first position to said second position when said access panel is removed, thereby to close said passage and to prevent access to the interior of the box except by breaking said sealing means.

5. In a voting machine, the combination which comprises a housing having defined therein a ballot box receiving chamber including a panel which is removable to provide access to said chamber, a closed ballot box disposed Within said chamber and including a slideable cover, said cover having at least one ballot passage therein leading to the interior of the box, said cover including first and second wall members having flanges thereon extending adjacent each other and outwardly of the box, a clamp overlying said flanges and normally effective to lock said wall members together, sealing means normally effective to lock said clamp and said flanges but breakable to permit disassembly of said cover, a passage closure mounted in fixed position within said box and adjacent said cover, said cover being slideable along said ballot box from a first position wherein said passage is open to permit insertion of ballots into said box to a second position wherein said fixed passage closure blocks said passage, said cover normally occupying said first position, and structure mounted on said access panel and engaging said cover for automatically sliding said cover from said first position to said second position when said panel is removed, thereby to close said passage.

6. In a voting machine, the combination which comprises a housing having defined therein a ballot box receiving chamber, a closed ballot box disposed within said chamber and including a slideable cover, said cover having at least one ballot passage therein leading to the interior of the box, said cover including first and second wall members having flanges thereon extending adjacent each other and outwardly of the box, a clamp overlying said flanges and normally eiiective to lock said Wall members together, sealing means normally effective to lock said clamp and said flanges but breakable to permit disassembly of said cover, a passage closure mounted in fixed position within said box and adjacent said cover,

said cover being slideable along said ballot box 'from a first position wherein said passage is open to permit insertion of ballots into said box to a second position wherein said fixed passage closure blocks said passage, a detent mounted within said box and biased towards said cover, means on said cover cooperating with said detent to lock said cover in said second position to prevent sliding movement of the cover, said cover normally occupying said first position, and means mounted on said housing and engageable with said cover to slide said cover from said first position to said second position in order to close said passage and to prevent access to the interior of the box except by breaking said sealing means.

7. In a voting machine, the combination which comprises a housing having defined therein a ballot box receiving chamber, a closed ballot box disposed Within said chamber and including a slideable cover, said cover having at least one ballot passage therein leading to the interior of the box, a passage closure mounted in fixed position within said box and adjacent said cover, said cover being slideable along said ballot box from a first position wherein said passage is open to permit insertion of ballots into said box to a second position wherein said fixed passage closure blocks said passage, a detent mounted within said box and biased towards said cover, means on said cover cooperating with said detent to lock said cover in said second position to prevent sliding movement of the cover, said cover normallyoccupying said first position, and means mounted on said housing and engageable with said cover to slide said cover from said first position to said second position in order to close said passage.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 753,526 Sprague Mar. 1, 1904 1,068,783 Kohler July 29, 1913 1,275,579 McGowan Aug. 13, 1918 1,545,435 McFarland July 7, 1925 1,821,710 lolbert Sept. 1, 1931 2,339,367 Young Jan. 18, 1944 2,506,154 Jacot May 2, 1950 

1. IN A VOTING MACHINE THE COMBINATION OF A HOUSING DEFINING A BALLOT BOX RECEIVING CHAMBER, A BALLOT BOX DISPOSED WITHIN SAID CHAMBER AND INCLUDING A SLIDING COVER THEREON, MANUALLY OPERATED DOOR MEANS REMOVABLY MOUNTED ON SAID HOUSING AND MOVABLE FROM A CLOSED TO AN OPEN POSITION FOR PERMITTING INSERTION AND REMOVAL OF THE BALLOT BOX, MEANS DEFINING A BALLOT PASSAGE INTO SAID BALLOT BOX, SAID SLIDING COVER BEING NORMALLY POSITIONED TO MAINTAIN SAID PASSAGE OPEN BUT BEING SLIDEABLE ALONG SAID BOX TO A POSITION WHEREIN THE PASSAGE IS CLOSED, AND MEANS MOUNTED ON SAID DOOR MEANS AND ENGAGEABLE WITH SAID COVER FOR AUTOMATICALLY SLIDING SAID COVER FROM THE NORMAL POSITION TO THE PASSAGE CLOSING POSITION WHEN SAID MANUALLY OPERATED DOOR MEANS IS MOVED TOWARD THE OPEN POSITION IN ORDER TO PERMIT REMOVAL OF THE BALLOT BOX. 